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Patients
See also: Clients In clinical psychology A client is person who is receiving psychological or medical attention, care, or treatment. The person is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a counselor, psychologist, psychotherapist, psychiatrist or other medical professional. Health consumer, health care consumer or client are other names for patient, usually used by governmental agencies, insurance companies, and/or patient groups. Etymology The word patient is derived from the Latin word patiens, the present participle of the deponent verb pati, meaning "one who endures" or "one who suffers". Patient is also the adjective form of patience. Both senses of the word share a common origin. polysomnography patient at the Children's Hospital in Saint Louis, United States of America.]] In itself the definition of patient doesn't imply suffering or passivity but the role it describes is often associated with the definitions of the adjective form: enduring trying circumstances with even temper. Some have argued recently that the term should be dropped, because it underlines the inferior status of recipients of health care. For them, "the active patient is a contradiction in terms, and it is the assumption underlying the passivity that is the most dangerous". Unfortunately none of the alternative terms seem to offer a better definition. *''Client'', whose Latin root cliens means "one who is obliged to make supplications to a powerful figure for material assistance", carries a sense of subservience. *''Consumer'' suggest both a financial relationship and a particular social/political stance, implying that health care services operate exactly like all other commercial markets. Many reject that term on the grounds that consumerism is an individualistic concept that fails to capture the particularity of health care systems. Patient population groups studied Patient population groups studied include: *Geriatric patients *Hospitalized patients *Medical patients *Outpatients *Psychiatric patients *Surgical patients *Terminally ill patients Factors examined include: *Client participation *Patient abuse *Patient seclusion *Patient selection *Patient violence Outpatient vs inpatient An outpatient is a patient who is not hospitalized overnight but who visits a hospital, clinic, or associated facility for diagnosis or treatment. Treatment provided in this fashion is called ambulatory care. Outpatient surgery eliminates inpatient hospital admission, reduces the amount of medication prescribed, and uses a doctor's time more efficiently. More procedures are now being performed in a surgeon's office, termed office-based surgery, rather than in an operating room. Outpatient surgery is suited best for healthy people undergoing minor or intermediate procedures (limited urologic, ophthalmologic, or ear, nose, and throat procedures and procedures involving the extremities).eMedicineHeatlh.com An inpatient on the other hand is 'admitted' to the hospital and stays overnight or for an indeterminate time, usually several days or weeks (though some cases, like coma patients, have stayed in hospitals for years). See also * Client attitudes * Client centred therapy * Client characteristics * Client education * Client participation * Client records * Client rights * Doctor-patient relationship * e-Patient * Identified patient * Patient-centered care * Patient abuse * Patient advocacy * Patient Diary * Patient empowerment * Patient history * Patients' Bill of Rights (US) * Patient-reported outcome * Patient rights * Patient seclusion * Patient selection * Patient support groups * Patient therapist sexual relations * Patient violence * Virtual patient * Patient zero References External links *I am a good patient, believe it or not, a peer-reviewed article published in the British Medical Journal's (BMJ) first issue dedicated to patients in its 160 year history *How (not) to be a good patient, review article with views on the meaning of the words 'good doctor' vs. 'good patient' Category:Healthcare Category:Medical terms